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Final graphics doubt before picking up Macbook...

B

benmadrid

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 21, 2007
91
0
Madrid
I am a blogger/podcaster, photographer and writer, and am on the verge of the 'switch' back to a Macbook after years with a PC (can't wait!), picking it up tomorrow (Black version, 2GB Ram). I favour the Macbook for portability (I'll be using it for monthly trips abroad and getting out to a local wifi cafe a few times a week) and price, but have one last doubt - about the Macbook integrated graphics card.

I want to use this machine for light Photoshop use (resizing, levels, etc), and basic video editing (mostly using my external 17" sony monitor). I'm sure ivideo will be fine, but I may move to Final Cut some time as I really enjoy playing with video/video apps. The videos will mainly be 10 mins max, or shorter, and I'll just be splitting and joining scenes, adding music, the occasional effect. I'm not interested in gaming.

Will the intergrated graphics card in the Macbook be sufficient for my purposes, or does doing anything with video/photos mean the MB Pros are a must? I still have time to consider a 15 inch basic Pro if it is really necessary, but is it worth the extra 500 euros (about 600 dollars) for a 15" Pro with the same 2 GB Ram?... Any thoughts gratefully received. Remember, I will mostly be using this at home with an external monitor, and do value the portability of the Macbook for those trips abroad or to spend the afternoon in a cafe. Can you put my mind at rest and save me some money, or can you pursuade me it has to be a MB Pro?!
 
benmadrid said:
I am a blogger/podcaster, photographer and writer, and am on the verge of the 'switch' back to a Macbook after years with a PC (can't wait!), picking it up tomorrow (Black version, 2GB Ram). I favour the Macbook for portability (I'll be using it for monthly trips abroad and getting out to a local wifi cafe a few times a week) and price, but have one last doubt - about the Macbook integrated graphics card.

I want to use this machine for light Photoshop use (resizing, levels, etc), and basic video editing (mostly using my external 17" sony monitor). I'm sure ivideo will be fine, but I may move to Final Cut some time as I really enjoy playing with video/video apps. The videos will mainly be 10 mins max, or shorter, and I'll just be splitting and joining scenes, adding music, the occasional effect. I'm not interested in gaming.

Will the intergrated graphics card in the Macbook be sufficient for my purposes, or does doing anything with video/photos mean the MB Pros are a must? I still have time to consider a 15 inch basic Pro if it is really necessary, but is it worth the extra 500 euros (about 600 dollars) for a 15" Pro with the same 2 GB Ram?... Any thoughts gratefully received. Remember, I will mostly be using this at home with an external monitor, and do value the portability of the Macbook for those trips abroad or to spend the afternoon in a cafe. Can you put my mind at rest and save me some money, or can you pursuade me it has to be a MB Pro?!
Click to expand...


You'll be fine.

The stuff you mentioned is processor-intensive rather than relying on the graphics card. Contrary to common belief, video editing doesn't require a super duper video card - it's only when you get to stuff like digital compositing and motion graphics that you need a good card. iMovie and Final Cut Pro (not to mention Express which also works well) work very well on the MacBook. So from what you say in your post you won't need the extra graphics oomph - everything is dependant on the processor which is certainly no slouch.

You'll probably find Aperture a bit slow as it also relies on the card quite a bit but you don't mention it specifically so it's probably a non-issue.

Photoshop will be a bit slow under Rosetta but still eminently usable if you're only doing light work. The upcoming Adobe CS3 versions will positively scream on the Intel Macs.
 
Photoshop is CPU dependant, not GPU. It does not use CoreImage and does not have it's own method to hand off the processing.

Final Cut is basically the same.

Aperture and Motion are different but you did not mention those...
 
I received an email from apple a few days ago regarding a discount on Final Cut with the purchase of Mac (can't recall if it was for Express or Pro, possibly both). You mentioned FC so I thought you might want to look into that.

edit: found the email but it's an Educational Discount, not sure it's applicable in your case.
 
Thanks guys, that is just the sort of info I needed. You've totally set my mind at rest. Look like I've found a very good Mac forum too, which I'm sure will be coming in handy in the next few weeks :)

One more question if you have a moment... do any of you have experience of doing a lot of typing on the Macbook keyboard? I have never used a keyboard like it before (the way the keys are sunk/seperated), and I wonder if it is easy to use/comfortable to type fast on, or easy to miss keys and hard to get used to. I touch-type, but quite like the way my fingers slide from one key to another on my current keyboard!
 
I like the keyboard on my old 12" PowerBook keyboard more (best keyboard I have ever used (desktop or laptop), but this keyboard is around 90% as good.

Every keyboard has a learning curve. I type faster on my MacBook than I did when I first got it.
 
benmadrid said:
Thanks guys, that is just the sort of info I needed. You've totally set my mind at rest. Look like I've found a very good Mac forum too, which I'm sure will be coming in handy in the next few weeks :)

One more question if you have a moment... do any of you have experience of doing a lot of typing on the Macbook keyboard? I have never used a keyboard like it before (the way the keys are sunk/seperated), and I wonder if it is easy to use/comfortable to type fast on, or easy to miss keys and hard to get used to. I touch-type, but quite like the way my fingers slide from one key to another on my current keyboard!
Click to expand...

I used to like the feeling like that (sliding to the next key) but I'm in love with my MacBook keyboard now. It's a very good keyboard. Bit wierd at first, but you'll get used to it! :)
 
I would agree that you'd be fine with what you want to do. that 2Gb of ram will help in running photoshop.

The only reason to go for a MBP is if you want to play a bit more of hardcore games, want to use Final Cut intensively or just for the pro features :D

(oo just seen this smilely in the list :apple: )
 
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